Jesus Freak
Jesus Freak is the Grammy Winning double platinum fourth studio album by Christian rock and hip hop band DC Talk, released on November 21, 1995 from ForeFront Records. After three albums of hip-hop oriented sound, including DC Talk's Grammy-award winning third album, Free at Last, which was based primarily on hip-hop and pop oriented song writing, the trio decided to innovate and reinvent their style. After three albums of hip-hop oriented sound, the rock style of Jesus Freak was considered unexpected by fans and critics alike, but it helped to define DC Talk as serious artists and innovators and propelled them into the mainstream Background After three years, DC Talk returned with songs featuring a more alternative rock sound. Thus, the album's lead single, "Jesus Freak" was considered unexpected by fans and critics alike. Michael Tait said, "I was totally into rock and roll at the time (and) I really wanted to make a rock record." The band decided to focus on more rock-oriented music, with touches of rap and pop interwoven into the mix. Tait later explained, "We wanted to write songs that would hopefully touch a generation." Recording and production Compared to DC Talk's other albums, Jesus Freak was, stylistically, an experiment. The album was a fusion of various musical genres, including pop, rock, and grunge, all combined with hip hop. The title track, "Jesus Freak," is also of historical importance. It is believed to be the first link between grunge and rapcore in CCM. The song was even played on some secular stations. In addition, the album contains several cover songs, including "Day by Day," from the musical Godspell, and a heavily overhauled version of "In the Light" originally by Charlie Peacock. Several spoken-word samples are also heard; "Mind's Eye" features the words of Billy Graham and "What If I Stumble" contains a quote from Brennan Manning. Release Jesus Freak was released on November 21, 1995. It debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200, selling over over 85,800 copies in its first week of release. This number was the highest debut for a Christian album at the time. After the album, released through ForeFront Records, proved to be extremely successful, the band signed an exclusive distribution deal with Virgin Records. The label made it a priority to promote the album to mainstream music fans. Due to this promotional increase, "Between You and Me" became a huge hit for the band, even managing to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, a hard feat for a Christian rock band at the time. In 2006, EMI released a commemorative 10 anniversary version of the album entitled Jesus Freak: 10th Anniversary Special Edition. This special released contained a bonus disc of brand-new remixes, rarities, live tracks, and demos. Reception Critical reception After the initial success of its release, Jesus Freak was RIAA-certified as Gold by its first month, for shipments exceeding 500,000 units.Critical response to Jesus Freak was generally positive. Many of the album's singles were met with positive reception. for instance, "Jesus Freak" was the first non-AC song to win the Dove Award for Song of the Year. The album has gone on to sell over two million copies in the United States, achieving double platinum certification by the RIAA. The album also spawned several hit singles. Six of the album's singles became number-one hits across various Christian radio formats. "Between You and Me" was even a cross-over hit on secular radio, peaking at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. On June 20, 2006, Gotee Records released a ten-year anniversary tribute, Freaked!, featuring artists from record labels Gotee and Mono vs Stereo covering songs from the original album. "In the Light" and "Jesus Freak" are both featured in tobyMac' live CD/DVD Alive and Transported. In addition, the songs are still regularly sung in tobyMac, Kevin Max, and Newsboys concerts. Chart positions http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jesus_Freak_(album)&action=edit&section=9 editTracklisting #So Help Me God #Colored People #Jesus Freak #What if I Stumble? #Day by Day #Mrs. Morgan #Between You and Me #Like It, Love It, Need It #Jesus Freak (Reprise) #In the Light #What Have We Become? #Mind's Eye #Alas, My Love The song Day by Day is a cover of a song from the musical Godspell, with additional lyrics written by the band for the verses (the original song was only a chorus repeated with various different dynamics). In the Light ''is a cover of a Charlie Peacock song. dc Talk's version is vastly different from Charlie Peacock's, with some additional lyrics. Peacock sang backup vocals for this version. ''Mrs. Morgan ''is an interlude. It is a short interview with the worman who lives next door to the house that dc Talk converted into a recording studio. There are two similar interludes on ''Intermission: The Greatest Hits, one with Mr. Morgan as he retells the story Mrs. Morgan tells here, and another with Mrs. Morgan as she describes being somewhat famous. The track Jesus Freak (Reprise), another interlude, is a very lighthearted, short rendition of Jesus Freak sung by Todd Collins in a "contemporary" style. Music Videos * Colored People * Jesus Freak * Between You And Me Personnel *Joe Baldridge – Engineer *Brent Barcus –Guitar *George Cocchini – Guitar *Todd Collins –percussion, bongos, Conga, Drums, Cabassa, Loops, Cowbell *Will Denton – Drums *Mark Heimermann –Bass, Piano, cymbals, Hammond organ, Moog Synthesizer, Producer *Dann Huff – Guitar *David Lyndon Huff – Drums *Ronn Huff – Arranger, Conductor *Terry MacMillan – Percussion *Toby McKeehan – Producer *Jerry McPherson – Guitar *Shaun McWilliams –Mandolin, Drums *Brent Milligan – Bass *John Mark Painter – Bass, Guitar, Accordion, Producer *Charlie Peacock – Vocals on In the Light *Dave Perkins – Guitar *Otto Price – Bass *Chris Rodriguez – Guitar *Jimmie Lee Sloas – Bass *Aaron Smith – Drums *Dennis Soley – Flute *Jackie Street – Bass *Mitch Myers – Guitar *Oran Thornton – Guitar *Sean Turner – Guitar *Scott Williamson – Drums Category:DC Talk